On Thursday, February 11, the No. 1 state ranked boys basketball Federal Way Eagles overcame carelessness against a speedy foe to subdue No. 3 Curtis 59-52 at the ShoWare Center and claim the South Puget Sound League championship as well as the No. 1 seed to West Central District.
"We made turnovers," lamented Federal Way head coach Jerome Collins. "More importantly they were unforced. We were undisciplined on offense and that caused us not to score, which caused us not to press and not to run. Although we spaced well, we didn't send the ball to the right places. We were lackadasical with the basketball."
Curtis used its quickness to move smartly forward for an 8-2 first quarter lead, but the "Eagle Express" started hitting the tracks in earnest to thunder ahead with 13 consecutive points. Stealing the ball and making quick transitions, the Eagles (20-1) also started finding Cole Dickerson with passes into the paint while running to a 15-8 lead that became 15-10 at the end of the quarter.
Dickerson's three-pointer stretched the Eagle control to 20-12 before the Vikings (19-2) sailed back to trail only 20-17 with 2:50 left in the second quarter. Curtis hung close at 25-21 as the teams went to halftime break.
Federal Way created distance again with Isiah Umipig's twisting, underhand layup capping a 6-0 run that sent the Eagles into a 31-23 margin midway through the third quarter. Curtis drew within 30-33 and Federal Way responded with a 17-5 charge for the biggest lead of the game at 50-35 with 4:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
From that point, with the game on the line, the Eagles sent the ball in to Dickerson to hold the Vikings at bay. The 6-foot-7 Dickerson scored two inside field goals while a Robert Christopher field goal ahead of Dickerson's goals plus a pair of free throws from George Williams and a charity toss from Tyrell Lewis had Federal way leading 59-47 with 59.4 seconds remaining in regulation.
Five closing points from Curtis made the final score deceivingly close.
"The ball kept coming to me and I just wanted it more," said Dickerson, who flashed clear for 20 points and six rebounds. "My teammates did a good job of getting the ball to me."
Tyrell Lewis added to the Eagle effort with 12 points, five rebounds and six assists. Robert Christopher contributed a nine point and nine rebound achievement.
Dominique Williams tallied 21 Viking points on the strength of 5-of-5 from three-point land. Davonte Lacy scored 14 points while Julian Vaughan had nine points and eight boards.
